KameidoRenewed progress
When I added my first entry to this I was quite determined to lose weight. I had an idea of how to eat and exercise. And then something tremendously serious and life-changing happened to a family member which has left all of us in a very strange emotional place, and it’s really just a slow progression to learning how to cope with it and trying to not give up too much hope in a recovery taking place.
So with all of this my plans on working out and eating well kind of… didn’t happen. I went to summer school and that helped me keep my mind busy, and when that ended I went out a lot with a new friend and drank quite regularly. I also got high quite a bit. Funnily enough I lost about 10-15 pounds at this time, getting down to around 145.
School started up again last month, and I started working part time in late July, so I stopped going out as often (not at all since school started). Enrolling into my classes and starting to work again really gave me the nudge I needed I think to get me back onto a healthier lifestyle. I really wanted to commit myself to getting in shape, not just losing weight. I started working out again on campus and have now increased it to 5x a week: cardio every week day (high intensity interval training on elliptical, upright bike, and rower, and I’d like to eventually throw in the treadmill and maybe the spinning bikes) for about 20-50 minutes, and weight training with free weights and body weight on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I’m still trying to figure out which exercises to keep so that my workout doesn’t take TOO long (as I’m sure some of the ones I’m doing are working the same muscles) but overall I’ve already noticed an increase in muscle mass and I believe I have lost more weight (or at least inches). I don’t know if I’ve lost much in the last month or if it’s been since the summer as well, but overall I’m happy with my progress so far, especially with me getting over my fears of using weights. I would still love to get down to a lower body weight but the number isn’t too important; ideally I’d like to be around a size 4-5 as I am currently more of a 6-7 or 8-9 in some things. I am mainly needing to work on my torso, upper arms, and thighs.
As far as diet is concerned, I definitely still have an issue with indulging in certain snack foods too much. I find that overly salty things make me feel bloated and gassy and make my stomach a bit larger. I also think that I need to eat more during the middle of the day by means of a larger breakfast and lunch so that I don’t eat so much in the evening, but I do want to keep snacking – just on healthier choices. I’d like to get back into a predominantly fresh diet so hopefully I’ll be able to accomplish that by the end of the year.
The key to my success with exercising just seems to be about making it a routine and making it more of a planned schedule than just “I’m going to go in whenever I have the time.” 7 months ago
